Secrets, Secrets
by Sagittarian's Bow
Summary: With Amelia and Zelgadis alone on another journey and a heavy rainstorm having them confined to a single place, can the two work through their differences and admit to their love? Please R&R!
1. The Storm

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own these characters. But I DO own the events that follow. Enjoy! )**

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She walked behind him, just as she always did, mentally kicking herself every time she went to speak yet couldn't find the words she had practiced over repeatedly in her mind.

"_Just tell him you big oaf!_" she scolded herself. "**Someday…someday I will…even if he never could return these…feelings.**"

A faint sprinkle of water brought her attention back to the present, she reached up and wiped a few drops of rain from her nose and lifted the hood of her cloak over her head, concealing her dark ebony locks and protecting her from the rain that she knew would be coming soon. Her sapphire eyes scanned the sky quickly before looking back ahead of her and set them on the tall man leading the way. He too had taken head to the rain, covered beneath his cream colored cloak. She sighed, which was unusual for her compared to her normal giddy nature.

"Amelia? Something wrong? You've been acting…odd…lately." He asked, not turning as he addressed the young girl.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine, Mister Zelgadis. Just…it's cold, and the rain is sort of depressing. 'Ya know?" she replied, her voice not too reassuring.

He nodded his response which only saddened her more. She loved the sound of his voice, the way he said her name…the way he said anything really, since he wasn't really the talkative type. She yet again, seeming to catch his attention a bit more. His pace slowed so he was soon walking right beside her for the first time since they had set out together only days before. Slowly but surely, the storm was upon them, and her cloak proved not to be as much protection from the cold rain as she had hoped. She began to shiver involuntarily, only catching his eye more.

"Cold?" he questioned. Though she did not respond, her answer was plainly obvious. Her shivering had only increased, teeth were chattering, she looked soaked to the bone. Luckily for him, the water only slid right off since his skin was stone, but he knew the same was not for her. Her skin was, as he could only imagine, soft and delicate, such as that of a fine silk. "_If only…_" he thought, repeatedly, to himself, "Amelia?"

"Y-yes?" she replied, a slight stutter apparent due to her constant shivers.

"If you'd like, we could find a place to make camp until the storm passes. You look pretty cold…might catch something if you don't get out of the rain." He offered, taking her off guard.

"R-really?" she asked, stuttering again. Though she liked the fact he was suddenly being so kind and thoughtful of her, she was still a bit shocked as to why. He had never seemed to take much an interest in her well-being before, and it certainly wasn't like him to stop a journey in the middle of the forest to make camp simply because of a little rain, which she was pretty sure he could withstand anyways.

"Yes, really." He smirked, "If I didn't mean it then why would I ask, Princess? Do you think I would just dangle your health in your face like some kind of game?"

"I…well…no. But…"

"But what?"

She sighed, "Nothing, camp sounds great. Thank you, Mister Zelgadis."

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**A/N: Hello, everyone! Hmm..what's to say. Well, this is my first Slayers FanFic, and I was a little shaky with writing it...because I'm not the biggest Slayers fan in the world. But I've done a few RP's and seen bits of a couple episodes, as well as seen Slayers PREMIUM. I had nothing better to do with my time...and I LOVE Ame/ Zel relationships! XD Also...I've recently discovered that "Ame" as some call Amelia for short, means "rain" in Japanese...would you believe I learned that AFTER I wrote this chapter? XD And, I do apologize for the short length to each chapter, but time is money, and though I don't have any money, I don't have much time to spare. But I promise you all that there will be plenty chapters to keep the story moving along, even if they're not too much lengthwise. MY next update will be up and ready soon. Come again! 3**

**Please R&R and I shall love you forever! 3**

**--spazzes--**


	2. The Cave

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own these characters. But I DO own the events that follow. Enjoy! **

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Sitting on the ground of a dark, damp cave, she lowered her hood and allowed her thick ebony hair to spill out. She leaned back against the wall of the cave, its rough texture and icy feel sent a slight shiver throughout her frail body. Her big azure eyes began to wander around their makeshift shelter from the storm. Faint sounds of water dripping into the cave could be heard somewhere off near the back, though the rain pounding down outside overpowered it greatly, only allowing it to be heard as the rain would slowly begin to lift before pouring down even more, filling the two with a false hope of the rain's upcoming end.

Before they knew it, day turned to night, and light turned to darkness, leaving the two stranded deep within the dense woods, inside a dank cave. Though she was shielded from the cold rain, shivers still ran through her now and again due to the steadily decreasing temperature inside their little cave. She cast her eyes downwards, locking her gaze onto the dirt ground and the few stray pebbles, her slender arms crossed tightly around her body, seeking as much warmth from herself as she could manage. He found himself willing his eyes to part from her form, "_Just once, just for now…_" he kept telling himself, begging his mind to find something else of interest before she noticed his pleading eyes.

"_She's a strange one. She's always so chipper normally…but now she won't even speak. I wonder what's troubling her…maybe…maybe I could help? No…someone like me could never help her…I'm lucky to even be in the company of a princess…and such a beautiful one at that._" He thought, watching her closely, "**Wait, what! What are you thinking, Zelgadis! You ARE lucky to even be in the presence of such a creature! Don't mess it up now by sticking your blue nose in someone else's business! Just stay out of it! Look away! Forget you ever noticed something was wrong!**" he fought, "_But she looks so weary…she may catch cold if exposed to this atmosphere much more…it would only slow down our journey…right? So I should at least help with that…shouldn't I?_"

Her eyes were starting to feel very heavy, her body was beginning to feel numb all over as her thoughts began to wander, "_I've got to get out of this cave soon…before I fall ill…no one ever accomplished anything laying around sick all day…how're you supposed to defend justice if-_", she stopped, her thoughts being interrupted by a slight nudge on her shoulder.

She lifted her azure gaze from the dirt covered ground only to meet that of his, a faint yet confused smile forming on her thin lips.

"Why…err…is there something wrong, Mister Zelgadis?" she questioned.

He shook his head sternly and kneeled down beside her, resting his pack on the ground in front of them both and tugged out a mossy colored wool blanket, a little weathered from all his travels, but still in one piece nevertheless. Offering the blanket over to her, she leaned away quickly as an itchy sneeze came over her. He chuckled a bit and offered over the blanket again.

Smiling nervously, her cheeks tanned cheeks became all the more flushed as she realized how close he was sitting to her, the faint heat from his body practically being absorbed by her own.

"Oh, t-thank you, Mister Zelgadis." She stuttered, though not sure whether it was due to her shivering or if she really was that embarrassed.

"It's no trouble, Princess." He assured, moving to get back to his feet. He was stopped though, by a light tug on his arm. Curious, he glanced down to find the princess holding tight to his sleeve, her dark blue eyes seeming to be filled with so much sorrow, enough to tear a heart right in two. "Princess?"

Slowly, she released his sleeve and lowered her arm back to her side, her head lowering as well, "Sorry…"she apologized, her voice soft, "I…sorry."

More confused now than he thought ever possible, he returned to his seat at her side, watching her closely, "Something the matter, Princess?"

"Don't call me that…please…Zelgadis, I have a name…Princess isn't a name…it's only a title…"

Stunned, he had all he could do to merely blink, "Oh. My apologies, Pri-…err…Amelia." He felt so guilty, "_Was that what was bothering her this whole time? Me?_"

She nodded and lifted her head slightly, sitting a bit more upright, "It's fine, you didn't know I didn't like it. But now you do, and I'll be expecting you to remember it too." She said with a smirk, quickly glancing in his direction.

"Glad to see you're getting back to your old self again, _Amelia_." He stated, deliberately emphasizing her name.

She only smiled and nodded again, blinking and leaning back as he reached around her and wrapped the blanket around her carefully, "You should keep warm."

She welcomed the friendly gesture and snuggled into the warmth of the blanket, sighing in content and closing her eyes peacefully, "Thank you…Mister…Zelgadis…" she thanked, drifting off to sleep in mid sentence.

He blushed, glancing down at the sleeping princess as her head fell against his shoulder for support, resting all her weight against him. He awkwardly pulled up his arm and placed it around her shoulder so keep it from going stiff, her head moving further along his shoulder as she slept. Leaning against the wall of the cave comfortably, he rested his head back and closed his eyes as well, holding her close to him, keeping her warm, protecting her, sheltering her from the world, from the rain.

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**A/N: Okay, guys! You all wanted it and here it is! Ask and you shall receive! Phew...that was a challenge. xx A little longer than the first chapter, yes, but awkwardly enough...I liked it. As the Japanese say: Suki deshita kara! "Because I liked it!" o.O; Yeah...anyways...Hope you enjoyed! **

**Stay tuned and follow up! R&R to be lovelled to death forever! XD **

**--dances all triumphantly--**


	3. Morning Confusion

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own these characters. But I DO own the events that follow. Enjoy! )**

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The sun shone brightly into the entrance of the cave, streams of light escaping through the gaps of the treetops and illuminating the cave. He stirred a bit in his sleep as the light trailed into his eyes, slowly awakening him. He let a low groan escape his throat and rolled onto his back, feeling his bones stretch and crack, ridding his body of the morning ache.

"_Wait…I'm lying down? But…how…_" he thought, slowly opening his eyes and carefully scanning his surroundings. He was in fact on the ground, as far as he could tell, the floor of the cave. Trying to sit up, he winced, just then noticing the sudden stiffness in his arm. His eyes then rested upon the princess, lying right beside him, draped in the mossy blanket he had given her, using his stiff arm as a pillow, "_How in the world did we end up on the ground?_"

His pondering was cut short by the sound of a rustling blanket beside him followed by a groan that was similar to his. She raised a hand to her head and pressed her palm against her aching skull, mumbling out a dull "ow". He smirked, fighting back the strange urge to reach out and brush her hair away from her tanned face, moving himself away from her a little instead.

"Hmm…" she sighed, rolling to her back as well and rubbing the sleep from her eyes, slowly opening her azure optics and looking up at him, confusion quickly spreading throughout her innocent eyes, "Mister Zelgadis?"

"Y-yes?" he asked, snapping out of his daze.

"How did I…get on the ground?" she questioned, blinking a bit in her confusion.

"I…uh…I am not quite sure, Amelia. I was beside you when I awoke." He told her, gesturing to the space between them, only now realizing that he too was covered by the moss-colored blanket.

She followed his gaze and also noticed they had been sharing the thick blanket. She shook her head and slowly got to her feet to stretch, yawning in a slightly high-pitched voice before readjusting herself and straightening out her shirt. Walking to the cave's entrance, she poked her head out and smiled brightly. The rain had passed and the forest was green once more. From the looks of it, you would never have guessed it had rained at all. She ran out into the warmth and her smile broadened as she watched him follow out behind her, his pack once again on his back, the blanket they shared no doubt folded away inside once again.

"Ready to go?" he asked, watching her stop and look at him as if disappointed.

"I'm ready if you are, Mister Zelgadis." She said, trying her best to remain her normal chipper attitude.

"Okay, good." He nodded and began to walk off in their original direction with the young princess in tow, both still confused about so much that's happened in such little time, half of which they had slept through.

"_The turns life takes us through sometimes…through the most confusing of loops and twists and turns…all to straighten into the smoothest of paths in the end_." He reasoned, "_The one problem, life leaves it up to us to smooth them._"

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**A/N: Alright, guys. Chapter three's all finished. C'mon...give me a break already. One chapter per day is a lot on top of my club at school that just started as well as chores, homework, and my annoying little siblings who refuse to give up the computer. Plus...WRITER'S BLOCK! xx It attacked me big time throughout this one. So a few days break and I should be all set for a few more chapters. Enjoy, R&R to be lovelled forever, and so on. You get the drift. XD **

**--yawns and wobbles off to bed--**


	4. Trusting You

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own these characters. But I DO own the events that follow. Enjoy!**

**Here's Chapter Four, all for you fans out there! XD : 3**

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After about one more day of traveling through the dense forest, Amelia and Zelgadis had reached their halfway point to their seemingly endless journey ahead. The pair had stopped at a small little village which sat on the shores of perhaps the bluest lake the young princess had ever laid eyes on. As Zelgadis stayed close to the lake's beach, keeping plenty of distance between him and the townsfolk, Amelia wandered through the small village in hopes of locating a tavern, a small inn even, and shops in which they could stock up on the necessary supplies.

As the night slowly crept onto the village, Amelia had returned with their supplies stored neatly in Zelgadis' pack and the two walked back through the village and straight to the inn she had discovered near the outermost edge of the village, Zelgadis keeping as close to the shadows as humanly possible without drawing too much attention. Once reaching the tiny inn, Amelia spoke with the man at the desk about getting a room or two for the night while Zelgadis slipped into the shadows once again, watching through his thin eyes as the princess walked back towards him with a worried look.

"Anything the matter, Amelia?" he asked, trying not to sound all too concerned.

She sighed and crossed her arms against her stomach before looking up to meet his gaze. Though his voice seemed to be full of annoyance, hatred even, his eyes told the young princess an entirely different story. She had always found herself yearning to see his eyes while he spoke, but was disappointed each time as he turned away from her, never looking her in the eye like he had been the past couple days. What was going on with him? With her? Her confusion, she felt, was starting to get the better of her.

"I think I might have gone a little excess on the amount of supplies we'll need, so our money's a little low as of now. And, we don't have enough for two rooms for tonight." She explained, obviously irritated by her miscalculation, "I tried talking the clerk into letting us trade some things in exchange for the second room, or even just some items to make up for the missing chunk of the money, but he's being unreasonable."

"Do you wish to find another place to stay for the night?"

"I asked the clerk if there was another place near here, unfortunately…"

"Oh…"

"Yeah. So, I got the one room, but we'll have to share it. It's only one night right? I guess it's better we save that last bit of money for some extra food than to simply waste it."

He nodded and glanced over to the clerk at the desk. The man seemed much older than he was, mid forties perhaps, balding near the middle of his head. His age showed greatly on his wrinkled face. "He's overcharging you for the rooms." Zelgadis told her.

"Huh? How do you figure?" she asked, a bit confused.

"You're a woman." He stated flatly, "A younger woman at that. And, if you've looked around, you would notice that the only women here are the few concubines the guests have picked up. Why would he waste a room on a single young woman who doesn't plan on spending a long while here when he could simply rent it out by the hour to a bunch of…err…excited…men."

She blinked, dumbfounded by his reasoning, "That's…just…uh…wow."

He nodded and sighed, turning to head to the stairs and up to their room.

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She sat at the end of the large bed and carefully removed her boots from her sore feet, placing them on the floor off to the side where she would sleep. Her cloak had been discarded and hung over the chair by the window. Getting to her feet, she walked to the window and looked out up at the full moon that shone down brightly atop the small little village, its reflection glistening off the water of the nearby lake. Amelia sighed and ran her hands through her ebony locks, leaning her small frame against the wall as she gazed out, admiring the night.

He set down their sack of supplies for their long journey ahead and removed his cloak, laying it over his right arm and slowly rolling it up. He set it on the floor opposite the side of the bed where it seemed Amelia would be sleeping. After laying out a few blankets across the floor, he too removed his boots and sat them at the foot of the bed. Hearing all the commotion and rustling of sheets, Amelia broke from her daze and turned to see what her friend was up to.

"You…plan to sleep on the floor like that?" she asked him, blinking a bit and sitting on her side of the bed leaning over slightly to see what he'd created.

He only nodded and looked up at her on the bed with an expression she read to be 'What? Like you didn't know that?'. She nodded back and blushed a bit, turning her head away as he lifted off his shirt and set it beside his rolled up cloak. She crawled back to her side of the bed and curled up a bit, pressing her hands against her burning cheeks.

After feeling something hard jab into her side, she sat up and noticed she still had yet to remove her belt and finally did so, folding it in half and placing it on the table beside the bed. She curled up again and looked up at the ceiling, her pulse still racing and her heartbeat steadily thumping against her chest at a slightly quickened pace.

"_What's happening to me?_" she asked herself, "_I know…no…I have known about these feelings for, Mister Zelgadis for some time now…but…I have never acted like this before…no one has ever made me feel like this before…I wish I could tell someone…anyone…especially him…_"

He sat there for a few moments before lying down too, "_She has been acting so strangely these few days…perhaps she did fall ill from the rainstorm after all? No…she shows no symptoms of that._" He sighed and directed his gaze towards the ceiling as well, "**_Come now, you know very well why she is acting in such a manner. And you should talk to her about it too, because, dear fellow, you share mutual feelings towards the girl. Just go on and tell her already and spare yourselves of this torment._**"

"Amelia?" he spoke, breaking the dreadful silence which had settled in upon the room in the minutes they had separated.

"Y-yeah?" she replied rather hesitantly.

"Do you…do you suppose there would be enough space up there…if I were to join you? The floor is…err…rather cold…and…"

She giggled lightly, making his heart almost leap right into his throat, it had been so long since he had truly heard her laugh, and he had to admit to himself that he really had missed it. He missed her giddy, bubbly, justice-seeking self. He truly did.

"Well…if word got out that we had shared a bed, we would never hear the end of it. But…I trust you, Mister Zelgadis. You've never really given me reason not to. All you've ever done since we started this journey is protect me. And, I wouldn't want you to catch cold down there all by yourself."

He was almost stunned by her generosity. She was a princess, he was a monster, and she willingly and happily accepted him into her bed. She trusted him enough to allow him to sleep at her side. Maybe…just maybe…maybe she, one day, could return these strange yet powerful emotions he was slowly beginning to realize he held for her.

"_Maybe…_"

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**A/N:** Well, there you are. I took about..well..about a week off. Sorry about the long delay guys. But there it is. I don't think I'll be able to get up a chapter a day again like I did with the first three chapters, but I will update as much as I can manage to fit in. Gotta love high school..--gags--

R&R to be lovelled forever: 3

--yawns and stumbles off to bed--


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